Ironing board for shirts, dresses and the like



Aug. 27, 1957 KASUMI MIYAMOTO 2,803,897

IRONING BOARD FOR SHIRTS, DRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 3, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l O INVEN TOR. "'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/III! 20 K a s u M y a m 1- 20 T'ig.Z' r.

ATTORNEYS Aug. 27, 1957 KASUMl MIYAMOTO IRONING BOARD FOR SHIRTS, DRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 5, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Miyamofo Kusumi ATTQR N EYS United States Paten r' IRONING BOARD FOR SHIRTS, DRESSES AND THE LIKE Kasumi Miyamoto, Denver, =Clo.

Application-January 3, 1-955, Serial No. 479,318

Claims. (CL 38- 137) Thepresent inventionrelates toanironing board. It has to do particularly, although not exclusively, with an improved ironing board which is -'so constructed and :dresses, and the neckline *area of dresses and shirts.

Sleeve boards have been provided but these have not been satisfactory and have necessitated the acquiring and use of two separate ironing boards, one being of the large conventional type and the other the separate and -smaller sleeve board.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a new and novel ironing board upon which articles of various types and sizes can be properly ironed, thus eliminating the need for one board for "large articles "and another board for small articles, such as shirts,

blouses and dresses.

Another "object of the invention is to provide 'an improved, preferably one-piece ironing board, which perforrns the "functions of two heretofore known separate and distinct ironing boards of di'fierent sizes, and in a more eificient and convenient manner.

The above and other objects of the present invention Willappearfrom the following description and appended claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of :an ironingiboard embodying the present invention; t

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line..2-2 of Fig. '1, looking in the 'direction of the arrows;

:Fig. :3 is a fragmentary plan view -of the hoard of Fig. 1, illustrating the use of it in the pressing of the back of a shirt;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the front portion, particularly the shoulder and sleeve portions, of the shirt of Fig. 3 on the board of the present invention; and

Figs. 5 through 9 are fragmentary, more or less diagrammatic or schematic views which illustrate the various positions of the dress of a small child on the smaller end portion of the ironing board of the present invention, or a large shirt or shirt-dress (Figs. 7, 8, and 9) and representing its versatility and utility in the accommodation of the dress or shirt to permit its pressing in areas or regions of the garment heretofore difiicult to press or iron properly with conventional ironing boards.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrange ment of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and the body and the head portions.

18413597 Patented Aug. 27, 1957 2 of being practiced or carried out in various ways. It is to be understood also that the phraseology or terminolo'gy employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention claimed herein beyond the requirements of the prior art.

The improved dual-function ironing or pressing board is shown as a Whole at 10. It has a body portion 11, a head portion 12 and a neck portion 13 which connects It has been determined by use of the board of the present invention that perhaps the best results are obtained by one having a body portion of approximately a 16 .inch width, a head portion approximately 14 inches wide and an interconnecting merging neckport-ion which is approximately seven and five-sixteenths inches wide. An angle line drawn diagonally from the left corner of the head portion 12 tothe right side -of the neck portion 13, as indicated by the double 'headed arrow 14 in Fig. l, is precisely eleven and one-half inches long when the dimensions of the bodygpor'tion 11 and the head portion 12 are as given above. The overall length of the board may vary from that of the *conventional ironing board, which is usually around 54or so inches in length, to be shorter or longer than usual, 'but the Width of the body, head, and neck portions preferably are the same as set forth herein.

The distance from the substantially straight end or free extremity 21 of the head 12 to the narrow interconnecting portion 13 is approximately one-half of the maximum width of the body portion 11 of the ironing board; desirably, the width of the narrow portion 13 is less than'the distance between said portion and the substantially straight extremity 21.

The 'outer corners of the body portion '11 are convexly curved or rounded, as shown at 115, and the longituclinal'side edges 16 thereof taper in converging relationship, as seen at 17, toward the head portion 12 at the neck area 13. They then diverge, as shown at 18, and merge with nicely roundedor convexly curved side edges 19 of the "headportion 12 of the ironing board.

As seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the surrounding edges or the several portions of the ironing board are preferably beveled or chamfered at 20. This assists materia'illy in the shifting or adjusting of the garments illustrated in Figs. 3 through9 on the head and neck sections or portions of the board 10 for the purpose of locating such garments in position to be properly ironed or pressed. "For example, the shirt S'of Figs. 3 and 4 can he slipped over head portion 12 of the board and be shifted a 'bit by hand so that the neck, shoulder and sleeve portions will be properly engaged with and lie flat .over the board head portion 12, see Fig. 3. This permits proper pressing "and shaping of these portions at the back of the shirt. The partially ironed shirt may now be removed from the board, turned over, and the front shoulder portions of shirt S brought into engagement with head portion 12 of the board, see Fig. 4. In this position, the convexly curved side edges 19 project into the arm holes of the shirt and thus provide a flat surface for the proper ironing of the shoulder and upper sleeve portions. If the shirt S is a childs size, for example, the arm hole at one side may be slipped over the convex portion 19 at either side, the shirt moved toward neck portion 13 of the board, and then shifted in the opposite side direction to bring the other arm hole portion of the shirt into engagement with the other convex portion 19 of the head 12. This procedure or technique is shown, or at least suggested by the illustration in Fig. 5 of the drawings wherein a small dress, such as that for a child, is shown in one position or location for the proper ironing of a portion thereof. If, of

course, the shirt S is too small to be slipped over head 12 of the board, the shifting can be followed as above to permit one shoulder and arm hole region to be pressed at a time without ever having both projections 19, 19 engaged with both arm holes.

Figs. 5 through 9 illustrate the use of the present ironing board to press a dress, which may be the dress of a small child, such as the dress D of some of these figures, or a large shirt or shirt-dress, as the case may be, as in Figs. 7, 8, and 9. In Fig. 5 the dress is shown front side up with the right arm hole in engagement with the convex side 19 of head portion or section 12 of the ironing board. Fig. 6 shows the same dress after being shifted to bring both curved sides 19 into the arm holes of the dress. In this position the front near-shoulder portions of the dress may be nicely pressed. If the size of the dress is too small to slip over the head 12, it still may be well ironed by doing the right front side as shown in Fig. 5, and shifting to do the left side in the same manner.

Fig. 7 shows a large shirt S having been turned over with the back up and slipped onto board 10, with the head portion 12 receiving the back shoulder portions and upper sleeve portions of the shirt. After ironing all sections of the shirt in contact with the top surface of ironing board 10, the shirt may be shifted into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 8. In this position it is possible to do a. very fine job of ironing and shaping of the right shoulder and arm pit area of the shirt. The garment may then be shifted to reverse the position so that the left shoulder and arm pit area can receive the same pressing or ironing treatment.

When desirable, the shirt S may be further shifted over the board 10 to permit pressing or ironing of the area including the side, shoulder and arm seams 21 seen in Fig. 9. In this figure, the garment has been brought into engagement with the chosen portions of the board in such a manner that a very expert job of pressing and shaping of the under-seam, sleeve and side areas can be achieved.

If desirable, the head portion or section 12 of the board may be made as a separate and removable part of the whole ironing board, being easily and quickly attached to or removed from the board proper.

Board 10 is, of course, preferably mounted upon suitable legs which may be folded or collapsed in any well known manner. Moreover, the board may be formed from wood, plastic, veneer, metal, or the like and may be cloth-covered or bare, as desirable.

I claim:

1. An ironing board having an elongated body member, a head member extending forwardly of the body member, the sides of the body member throughout a major portion of its length being straight and substantially parallel, with the remainder of said sides adjacent the head member tapering in converging relationship toward said head member to merge therewith, said head member having a tapering portion disposed in converging relationship with the tapering portion of the body member and providing a narrow portion interconnecting said members, said head member having its greatest width approximating but less than the maximum width of the body member, the opposite sides of the head member being rounded with its extended end being straight and substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the ironing board and said rounded portion merging with the tapering portion of said head member.

2. An ironing board having an elongated body member, a head member extending forwardly of the body member, the sides of the body member throughout a major portion of its length being straight and substantially parallel, with the remainder of said sides adjacent the head member tapering in converging relationship toward said head member to merge therewith, said head member having a tapering portion disposed in converging relation-ship with the tapering portion of the body member and providing a narrow portion interconnecting said members, said head member having its greatest width approximating but less than the maximum width of the body member, the opposite tapered sides of the head member terminating in rounded portions and the free extremity of said head member being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the ironing board.

3. In an ironing board, an elongated body member and a head member extending forwardly therefrom, the sides of the body member throughout a major part of its length being straight and substantially parallel, with the remainder of said sides adjacent the head member tapering in converging relationship toward said head member to merge therewith, said head member having a straight surface at its extended end disposed substantially perpendicular to the lengthwise axis of the board and merging with rounded sides of the head member, said rounded sides merging with the tapering portion of said head member disposed in diverging relationship to the tapering portion of the body member and defining therewith a narrow interconnecting portion, the distance from the straight portion of said head member to the narrow interconnecting portion approximating one-half of the maximum width of said body portion, and the width of said narrow portion being less than the distance from said straight portion to said narrow portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,205,185 Freeman Nov. 21, 1916 1,522,023 Metzler Jan. 6, 1925 2,561,764 Wattles July 24, 1951 2,652,646 Cave Sept. 22, 1953 

